Cross-generational vowel values in Zhongyuan Mandarin

The representations of the existing languages or dialects could contain clues for existed historical changes and future tendencies. Synchronic differences of sound in age may possibly provide traces for diachronic changes and the linguistic representations of speakers in different age groups can provide specific exemplifications. The data shows that the the whole acoustic vowel space of the young generation is higher than that of the old generation, showing that, in the low level, the aperture of the young generation decreases in articulating the vowel /a/. Since the distribution range of /i/ in the young generation enlarges backward in the front-back dimension, and /y/ makes adjustments in the same dimension, the back vowel /u/ is thus forced to move backward to keep balance of the whole triangle configuration. At this point, it is insufficient for /u/ to be ONLY featured with [+BACK]. The newly added feature [+HIGH] is therefore strengthened to meet the requirement of keeping contrast with other phonemes. Such phenomena are considered to be the combined effect of the Principle of Least Effort (the Economy Principle) and the Principle of Discrimination.
Since big cities are considered to involve more age-related differences in sound than rural areas, this data is extracted from speech materials of two generations in the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China (PPLRC, for short) from seven cities of Henan Province, including Kaifeng (KF), Shangqiu (SQ), Xuchang (XC), Luohe (LH), Zhoukou (ZK), Nanyang (NY) and Zhumadian (ZMD). This dada mainly includes the F1F2 values of the five basic vowels [a, ə, i, u, y]. Bark values and V values are calculated from a set of formulae. This data can be used to compare cross-genarational differences.